Guidelines in Louisiana

Voter Registration Requirements

You can't be under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony.

You can't be under a judgment of full interdiction or limited interdiction for mental incompetence, where your right to vote has been suspended.

You need to reside in the state and parish in which you seek to register and vote.

If you're a first-time voter who registers by mail, you're required to submit proof of identification either at the time of registration or when you vote. You can include a copy of your identification with your registration form today! Acceptable forms of ID include: a current utility bill, bank statement, valid photo ID, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows your name and address.

Don't forget -- your state may have additional ID requirements when you go to the polls.

If you have additional questions about voting in Louisiana, please contact:

Registration Deadline

Postmarked by: 30 days before Election Day.

Felony Information

Under Louisiana law, if you were convicted of a felony, you may register and vote when you have completed all the terms of your sentence (including probation and parole). When you go to register or re-register after completing your sentence, you will be required to provide documentation from the corrections department that proves that you are eligible to register. For more information, visit the Louisiana Secretary of State's website or call them at 225-922-0900.

Information for Students

You must be a resident of the state in which you register and vote. If you're a student from Louisiana who attends school in another state, you may need to determine whether you're a Louisiana resident or a resident of the state where you attend school. The important thing to keep in mind is that you may only cast your vote in one state.

Here's what Louisiana says about residency: Under Louisiana law, a resident is a citizen who resides in the state, with an intention to reside there indefinitely. If you are a full-time student, you are permitted under Louisiana law to choose as your residence and register to vote at either the place where you reside while attending school, or at the place where you reside when not attending school. You need not have an intent to reside indefinitely at the place where you register, but you may not have more than one residence at any one time for the purposes of registering to vote.

If you determine you're a Louisiana resident, but will not be present in this state or will be away from your home district on Election Day, be sure to check the absentee ballot application requirements and deadlines. In addition, Louisiana residents who attend school in-state, but in a different election district, may be eligible to register and vote in the election district where they live while attending school.

To determine whether you're a resident of a different state where you attend school, be sure to check that state's residency requirements.

Identification Information

Louisiana says that you need to bring ONE of the following forms of identification:

If you have no picture ID and bring only a utility bill, payroll check, or government document that includes your name and address, you will have to sign an affidavit provided by the Elections Division in order to vote.

Same Day Registration

No

Early Voting Information

In Louisiana, you don't have to wait until Election Day to vote. You can skip Election Day lines and vote early at a time that's convenient for you.

Vote Early In Person

All voters in Louisiana can vote in person before Election Day at designated early voting locations from October 23, 2012 to October 30, 2012.

Vote Early By Mail

You can also vote before Election Day by completing an absentee ballot and submitting it by mail, so long as you are a member of one of the following groups:

the United States Armed Service or a spouse or dependent

students, instructors, or professors in an institution of higher learning located outside of their parish of registration, and live outside of their parish, or spouses or dependents accompanying and residing therewith

ministers, priests, rabbis, or other members of the clergy assigned to a religious post outside of their parish of registration, or spouses or dependents accompanying and residing therewith

those who are or expect to be temporarily outside the territorial limits of the state or outside of their parish of registration during the early voting period and on election day

those who have moved their residences to another parish more than 100 miles from the parish seat of their former residence after voter registration books closed

those who are involuntarily confined in an institution for mental treatment outside of their registration parish and who are not interdicted and not judicially declared incompetent

those who are residing outside the United States

those who expect to be hospitalized on election day and either were hospitalized or expect to be hospitalized during the early voting period, or did not learn that they would be hospitalized until after the early voting period expired, or were hospitalized and released but restricted to bed by their physician during the early voting period and on election day

those who expect to be out of their precinct upon the waters of the state both during the early voting period and on election day because of their employment or occupation (e.g., working offshore)

those who are approved for the Special Handicap Program and are living at home, not in a nursing home

those who are incarcerated in an institution inside or outside their parish of registration and are not under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony

those who are 65 years of age or older

those who have a mobility impaired identification card issued by the office of motor vehicles (include a copy of mobility impaired ID card with your application)

If you are eligible to apply for absentee voting, complete the Absentee Ballot Application and return it to your parish's Registrar of Voters either by mail, fax, or in person. Your parish's Registrar of Voters must receive your Application by 4:30pm on the 4th day before election day.